School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering

Title:	Noise field modelling and impact assessments in marine environments
Sponsor:	Offshore industry funded across multiple projects
Keywords:	noise, Enviormental impact, RAM code, range dependant models, 2D – 3D noise fields, marine mammals, fish

With increasing requirement for noise field assessment from man-made offshore activities Loughborough University in collaboration wit the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have been involved in numerous projects for the offshore industry to assess anthropogenic noise sources and then model potential impact on marine environments. Advanced acoustic modelling techniques are used to model 2D and 3D environments around  acoustic sources taking into account bathymetry and sediment type, source spectral contributions etc. This data is then overlaid against current best knowledge of  impact for marine receptors such as marine mammals, fish etc. allowing complex predictions of potential impacts on these species.

Models have also been developed to predict cumulative exposure for longer term noise exposures, such as a marine piling sequence. The relative range and overall exposure from these sequences of a animal in vicinity can then be modelled for a variety of scenarios, i.e. static, fleeing the area, transiting an area etc. These studies have been preformed on a variety platforms including marine piling for offshore wind construction, subsurface piling, operational petroleum platforms (FPSO), etc.

 

This work has been conducted in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory

Stephen Robinson from the National Physical Laboratory

[“Cumulative noise exposure assessment for marine using Sound Exposure Level as a metric”, Theobald, P.D.,  Lepper, P.A., Robinson, S.P., and Hazelwood, R.A. (2009)”. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference & Exhibition on "Underwater Acoustic Measurements: Technologies & Results", Napflion, Greece,  June 2009, ISBN; 978-960-98883-4-9.]

[“Monitoring the temporal and spatial characteristics of the noise radiated from marine piling (A)”,Lepper Paul A. and Robinson Stephen P., (2008), J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 123, p2987.]

[“Temporal and Spectral Characteristics of a Marine Piling Operation in Shallow Water”, Lepper, P.A., Robinson, S.P. Ablitt, J. and Dible, S. (2009). Proc. NAG/DAGA Int. Conference on Acoustics, p266-268, Rotterdam, March, 2009.]

[''Temporary shift in masked hearing thresholds in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) after exposure to seismic airgun stimuli'', Todd, V.L.G., Pearse, W.D., Tregenza, N.C.,  P.A. Lepper and Todd, I.B, March (2009), ICES Journal of Marine Science Installations.]